In the proposed work we plan to continue our studies on the action of metabolic hormones on the structure and function of hepatic cellular organelles. The primary focus of the current studies is the effects of hormones on the endoplasmic reticulum, particularly the smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER). We intend to continue our studies on the effects of glucocorticoids on the SER and extend these studies to investigate the effects of diabetes on this organelle. Likewise the actions of glucagon and insulin on hepatic SER in diabetic rats will be investigated. We will sub-fractionate hepatic rough and smooth microsomes from the hormonally-stimulated and deprived rats and study the enzymatic (particularly glucose-6-phosphatase) of the isolated membranes. Further studies are designed to explore the physical and biochemical properties of the isolated ER membranes.